Monday, November 10 | 10:00am

Little Naturalists

Introduce your three- to five-year-old to nature! Trained guides explore topics such as food chains, hibernation, how trees grow and more with 3 to 5 year olds and their accompanying adults. The program starts indoors for 20-30 minutes where the children engage with the guides through reading nature centered books and doing a hands-on activity related to the learning in the book.  This is followed with a short moderate hike on one of the ICNA trails. Little Naturalists meet  on the second Mondays, third Saturdays, and fourth Thursdays of the month. Gatherings are held from 10:00 to 11:30 am. We prefer that people preregister for these programs. The link to register for the next Monday program is here. Siblings are also welcome to attend.

Little Naturalists follow the weather cancellation policies for Albemarle County Schools.  When the schools are closed or there is a late opening, the Little Naturalists will not meet on that day.

Friday, November 14 | 12:00pm

Second Friday Solar Viewing

The Charlottesville Astronomical Society will present and bring their special Solar telescope(s), which will allow us to safely see sunspots, solar flares and prominences, and other features on the living cauldron that is our sun.  We'll start at noon in the education building for a short presentation, then go outside to the field next to the parking lot at 12:20.  

Cloudy weather cancels.

Although this event is free and open to the public, we ask that you contact the Charlottesville Astronomical Society at vicepresident@cvilleastro.com if you plan to attend.  Only if at least one visitor makes contact and confirms attendance, can the CAS guarantee that they will be at Ivy Creek for their presentation and telescope observing session.

Saturday, November 15 | 7:30am

Young Birder's Club

The Young Birder’s Club, a part of the Piedmont Bird Club, is available for youth between the ages of 7-16 interested in exploring Virginia’s natural world, with a focus on birds. With leaders and mentors, they explore various natural world settings seeking bird sightings in order to discover how to identify birds through sight, sound, behaviors, and habitat. It is free of charge. A parent/grandparent/guardian must remain on site with the minors and are welcome to accompany the group.

The group meets the first and third Saturdays each month in the ICNA parking lot at 7:30 AM. The birding activity takes approximately two hours. This program was recently approved for a $500 grant from the VSO (Virginia Society of Ornithologists) to support the program. These funds will be used to purchase new binoculars! Group mentors and leaders include include Reed Keller, a graduate from the original bird club, Tom Rapp, Louis Sokolow, Carol Wise, and Janet Paisley, members of the Piedmont Bird Club. In September, the group is hopes to offer an offsite visit to Afton Mountain to observe the hawk migration. Parents and guardians are responsible for transporting their child/children.

For more information, please contact Janet at paisley.janet@gmail.com.

Saturday, November 15 | 9:00am

November Native Plant Walk

November 15 (Saturday), 9:00 am-11:00 am, Ivy Creek Natural Area

Jefferson Chapter member, Nancy Weiss, will lead a forest ecology walk.  This will be an opportunity to learn more about how various tree, shrub, and herbaceous species in Ivy Creek’s forests have changed over time.  See how to read the influence of man and so imagine how the forest looked 80 years ago.  Co-sponsors:  Jefferson Chapter, VNPS, and Ivy Creek Natural Area.  Meet by the kiosk near the parking lot. Free and open to the public.

Saturday, November 15 | 10:00am

Little Naturalists - Saturday

Introduce your three- to five-year-old to nature! Trained guides explore topics such as food chains, hibernation, how trees grow and more with three- to five-year-olds and their accompanying adults. The program starts indoors for 20-30 minutes where the children engage with the guides through reading nature centered books and doing a hands-on activity related to the learning in the book. This is followed with a short moderate hike on one of the ICNA trails. Little Naturalists meet  on the second Mondays, third Saturdays, and fourth Thursdays of every month. Gatherings are held from 10:00 to 11:30 am. We prefer that people preregister for these programs. The link to register for the next third Saturday is here.  Siblings are also welcome to attend.

Little Naturalists follow the weather cancellation policies for Albemarle County Schools.  When the schools are closed or there is a late opening, the Little Naturalists will not meet on that day.